Murder Of the Innocent Girls

In my perspective, both men and women are equal. You may not feel the same but ask yourself why? What is it that makes men superior to women? We are the same species, and DNA. In the weaker societies in India this is not considered to be true. Some people go to such an extent, that if their newborn child is a girl, they kill them. This is due to the prevalence of the disgraceful practice of an old Indian tradition called dowry. Dowry is the act of the bride’s side giving, money, land or expensive gifts to the bridegroom on their wedding day. Because this is still prevalent in some of the weaker societies in India, some families believe that the education and marriage of a daughter is a financial burden on them. For this reason they kill newborn, baby girls either before or just after birth. Every day, across the country 2,000 infants are killed. The current sex ratio in India is 914:1000. Is that fair? Your answer is most probably no, for this is clearly murder. This can have horrible effects such as imbalanced sex ratios and decrease in population. Women are equal to men, and deserve to be treated the same and be given the same opportunities, for women are an equal part of society. In this modern era they cannot be discriminated against. 

In today's day and age, women are just as important in society as men are. By evolving from times when women stayed at home and did not work, women are hold a strong status, equal men. Killing the female child is not only murder but also discriminating against women. Malala Yousafzai and activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate says, “ When God created man and woman, he was thinking, 'Who shall I give the power to, to give birth to the next human being?' And God chose woman. And this is the big evidence that women are powerful." This shows that there is no natural reason for women to be considered inferior to men but quite the contrary, women were chosen to reproduce humans. They should be treated with respect and treated the same way men are treated. However the most important reason why infanticide is bad is because it is simply murder of children. The dictionary definition of infanticide is ‘the crime of a mother killing her child within a year of birth’. Simply put, this is not civil and should be considered as murder. Pope Francis, the head of the Christian community says, “Life once conceived, must be protected with the utmost care; abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.” This also suggests that babies, whether they are just born or not yet, are alive and infanticide is killing them and that this is no different than murder. They should be nurtured and appreciated and they should not be killed just because of gender. Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the U.S.A. said, “Abraham Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be free and should therefore be slaves. Likewise, we cannot survive as a free nation when some men decide that others are not fit to live and should be abandoned to abortion or infanticide.” This also shows that man cannot decide to kill a newborn child as it is human and killing it is a crime. It is not in their hands to kill. It is bad not to take care of that child but killing it is unacceptable. This killing leads to an inevitable and terrible effects. With a drastic decrease in the number of women, the number of mothers also decrease leading to a decrease in the country's population. This will inevitably lead to several problems for the country, the most important of which is that the living conditions will decline. This is because of the inadequate labor force which would have boosted the output and production of goods and services. This will also reduce the manpower and income, as well as investments. There is also the fact that this will result in fewer people in the army, who would be defending the country during time of war. E.A. Bucchianeri, a known author says “Abortion should be listed as a weapon of mass destruction against the voiceless.” This means that when a child is born, it knows nothing, it can say nothing. Yet, it is human and killing it is basically denying it it's human right- the right to live. These girls are meant to be the next generation but by killing them, they are limiting the next generation.

In conclusion, I feel that infanticide is a horrible crime that has drastic short term and long term effects. It could lead to several problems such as decrease in the population and also the decrease in the power and dignity of women. This is idea of infanticide is growing more and more have thousands of victims every day. Though it happens in first world countries as well, this seems to be a major problem in India. A valuable suggestion that should be taken into account is the idea of baby hatches. This idea has been taken up by several countries such as the U.S., UK, and several European countries. Baby hatches are safe places where a parent can leave their child without the fear of prosecution. They will then be looked after by the government and if possible, be placed with an adoptive family. The Ministry of Women and Child development should take this into consideration as it will help a lot of people, and save a lot of lives, helping us nurture and preserve the future generations.

Social Medias Impact On Teens

       Nowadays, teenagers have all the digital devices you can think of and they all come with social media apps. Whether it’s Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat, all affect teenagers in different ways. One might argue that having social media helps improve lifestyles like being more fit and healthy from seeing models and how they look, but in the long run, teens become dissatisfied with their appearance and become very insecure about their body, feel a state of depression or anxiety. Perfect Illusions PBS said that 42% of girls in grade 1 - 3 want to be thinner. No one that young should be feeling self-conscious about their body. 78% of 17 year olds, girls especially, are unsatisfied with how they look. Seems unbelievable, right? That’s not it. 46% of high schoolers have an eating disorder. If social media is affecting kids and teens this much, why do we continue to have social media? The false body image that is being carelessly thrown out to the world has got to stop. Would you want to being living life like this? If you are, why?

        Instagram is flooded with perfect body images which are almost always photoshopped to reach this ideal body that no one really has naturally. In many cases, at a young age, people are exposed to social media and perfect models that stand on the page. Body images can create false fantasies for young girls, such as making them want to look a certain way even though everyone has their own body type. Teenagers start to have this image in their head of what they need to look like in order to be beautiful and when teens look at their flaws, they become depressed, but mostly very insecure. The article Social Media: A new source of insecurities, says that at age 13 teens become to recognise the image you don’t have and by 17 years old, it only becomes more noticeable to them and worse. Even though a teenage girl could end up being as “perfect” as other models or celebrities, she will still tend to not feel satisfied with herself because each model looks different. Luckily, throughout time people start accepting who they are and what they look like, but very slowly it happens.

        Now, I know for a fact that almost all the seventh graders at my school find themselves in bed with their phone checking social media. New posts of Cara Delevingne and her unique looks or maybe looking through Kendall Jenner’s Instagram account. No matter what person you wish you could look like, we all think about it. Going to bed becomes a struggle and it’s as if the phone sits on your bed just taunting you to pick it up and continue the searching. “Increase of vulnerability for the onset of depression and anxiety, and poor sleep quality may contribute to this,” Cleland Woods said. Lack of sleep because of social media can make teens depressed and more sensitive to things, such as how they look. The study, from British Psychological Society showed that nighttime social media use relates to poorer sleep quality. It also results to higher anxiety and depression.

        Being self-conscious about yourself can lead to way more then wanting new clothes. Personality changes and mood swings are some of the many emotional things that can happen. Growing up can be hard enough, but when jealousy of girls, models, or actresses come into place, it makes it even harder when you are still figuring out who you are. Girls may become intimidated by other women, who are on television shows, or are famous. Teenagers may treat others in a rude manner because of the influence they hear through the internet or through media. The Huffington Post said “25 percent admitted to difficulties in relationships because of social media". Sadly, anxiety squirms into teens head and in some cases, it can become so difficult that they become very depressed.

        Overall, social media and the false body image it puts out, creates too many unnecessary problems for teens. It causes anxiety, depression and insecurity. Teenagers are already experiencing changes and figuring out who they really are, but when social media comes into place, it makes it very difficult for teens. Teens are so emotionally attached to social media these days that it can hurt relationships and how you feel about yourself. On the other hand, social media can provide a rich source of information and help people stay connected. Teenagers need to be responsible and learn how to manage how much screen time they have. But, how much teens are hurt, needs to stop.